Germany’s Got a China Problem
And it could spell disaster
For all of Europe
Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell.
Germany has a China problem. A big one.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has gotten a lot of criticism
for being soft on China.
Which is weird because normally Angela Merkel seems so tough.
But I guess she melted when Xi Jinping went all “panda diplomacy” on her.
Once again, it’s the pandas.
It’s always the pandas!
Stop falling for their stupid cuteness, people!
Even Putin fell for it.
But it’s not just stupid pandas causing Angela Merkel to be soft on China.
It’s also German companies that want to do business in China.
And Merkel is facing a revolt from parliament for her reluctance to ban Huawei.
And her reluctance is pretty weird,
considering that her own government
told her that Huawei worked with Chinese Intelligence.
And this is important.
Germany often sets the tone for the rest of Europe.
For example, when Germany goes to war, the rest of Europe does too.
Germany, such a trendsetter.
But all jokes aside, if Germany were willing to use their power
to stand up to the Chinese Communist Party,
it would probably mean that China couldn’t get a foothold in most of Europe.
Unfortunately, certain people in the German government
seem to have a soft spot for authoritarian regimes.
Who would’ve guessed?
According to an Axios exclusive,
a top German official hushed up a report on China’s influence in Germany.
“A high-ranking German official suppressed a sensitive intelligence report in 2018
on China’s growing influence in Germany
out of fear it would damage business ties with China.”
Funny how different a decision like that looks in light of the coronavirus.
The report looked at how the Chinese Communist Party
has been seeking to influence every level
of German government, society, and business.
The report probably should have taken a closer look
at the unnamed German official who suppressed the report.
Now according to Axios, Merkel did see the report.
And there’s a reason why some segments of the German government
have been so reluctant to ruffle China’s feathers.
The former German Ambassador to China said,
“Germany depends on exports to a high degree,
and that gives business a large influence.
Business representatives talk to the government and are used to being listened to.”
For example, Germany’s largest telecom is 32% state owned.
And guess what? It relies heavily on Huawei technology.
And “It has lobbied strongly against any action
that would make it harder for it to roll out 5G.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs,
often eager to defend the interests of German industry,
has backed the firm.”
Volkswagen has had to defend its operations in China’s Xinjiang.
You know, where there’s been a lot of ethnic slave labor being used.
I knew there was a reason Hitler liked the Volkswagen.
But somehow I don’t associate the Volkswagen Bug with genocide.
That’s good marketing.
Volkswagen has actually been in China since the 1980s.
Which shows how long Germany
has had economic ties with the Chinese Communist Party.
“Germany’s big industrial companies
including engineering behemoth Siemens, car giant Volkswagen and chemical maker B.A.S.F.
were among the first Western companies to make big bets on China in the 1980s.”
And Germany’s economic relationship with China
has gotten closer and closer under Angela Merkel.
“In the 15 years since she took over as chancellor in 2005,
German exports to China have quintupled.”
China is Germany’s largest trading partner.
And the Chinese Communist Party is working hard
to make sure the status quo in Germany is maintained.
Huawei even wants to set up a media outlet in Germany.
“The Chinese technology company is looking for an editor-in-chief
to lead Huawei’s news offering [in Germany].”
I wonder how Huawei News will report on German-China relations and Huawei?
That’s crazy. That’s like Verizon setting up a news office in America.
If Verizon were headquartered in Pyongyang.
Can you hear me now?
Now all this doesn’t mean that Germany
has completely ignored China’s human rights issues.
They do talk about them. Merkel has even met with the Dalai Lama. Twice.
But while the German government is willing to occasionally criticize
the Chinese Communist Party,
they’re not going to stop doing business with them.
In fact, it seems like Germany’s elite
may have bought into the Communist Party’s propaganda
that China is just different and shouldn’t be judged.
One German billionaire said
“We can’t judge the Chinese according to our standard of values,
or our cultural or humanistic ideals.”
That same billionaire has
“spent decades dealing with China,
including as the Asia point man for Germany’s main industry lobby.”
Hmm, I wonder whether he’s in that hushed up report on China’s influence in Germany.
But clearly, the future of Europe... is being fought in Germany.
Seems strangely familiar, somehow.
And now it’s time for me to answer a question from one of you,
who supports China Uncensored through the crowdfunding website Patreon.
Jenny Wong asks, “Hi Chris. Why Vatican/ the Pope
refused to meet Mike Pompeo
and the 88 year old Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen?
And that the Pope intentionally omitted comments in speech a
bout China's security law in Hong Kong on July 5?”
Well that’s a really great question.
I’d like an answer to that too.
The Pope hasn’t really been talking much about the national security law in Hong Kong.
And the Pope rejected a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
who has been a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party.
That might be because last month,
the Vatican and China renewed an agreement
that allows the officially atheist Communist Party
to appoint Catholic bishops in China.
And yes, China is already breaking the deal.
“Only last week in Jiangxi province,
dissenting Catholic priests have been placed under house arrest,
in breach of an agreement to protect clergy from coercion.”
Now I get why Merkel has been soft on China.
There’s money on the line.
I don’t get what the Vatican gets out of being soft on China.
It’s not as if the Chinese regime is persecuting
Christians or Catholics any less because of it.
If anything it’s getting worse.
They say God works in mysterious ways.
Maybe the Pope is taking a cue from Him.
Thanks for your question Jenny.
And if you’d like to hear more about the Vatican’s deal with China,
we’ll be talking about that on the next episode of our podcast, China Unscripted.
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Once again, I’m Chris Chappell. See you next time.